


I Spy

by writing_secrets



Category: SHINee
Genre: EXO character mention, some violence, what's a plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:12:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7678612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_secrets/pseuds/writing_secrets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Small drabble. Still not happy with it, never am really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Spy

On the outside Lee Taemin most definitely looked like an airhead. It wasn’t really his fault that he looked young and innocent, and he had learned over the years to use his looks to his advantage. Once you actually got to know him, and that was a rare occurrence, you could see the cold cunning personality that lurked inside. Only three people had ever seen that particular side of him and had lived. He’s unexpectedly a brilliant strategist which really helped him in his line of work. After all, holding the title of one of the most notorious spies of the underworld was by no means an easy task. He was further helped by the fact that only a select few living people actually knew what he looked like. His code name Dancer might be plastered all over the underworld but it was useless to try and track him without a face to put to the name.  
-  
He’s called in by one of his favorite bosses in the underworld for a new job. The office he enters is cozy as always and the dark haired man smiles as he sees Taemin.  
“Jinki,” he greets as he shuts the heavy oak door behind him.  
“Minnie! You came!” Jinki greets enthusiastically.   
Taemin frowns at the nickname. This warm bubbly guy was one of the last people who anyone would expect to run one of the biggest underworld branches, but Taemin had seen him angry before and knew exactly what lurked under the warm smiles and laid back personality.   
“I could still leave you know,” Taemin says.  
“You won’t,” Jinki says.  
Taemin rolls his eyes and flops into one of the plush chairs that face Jinki’s desk.  
“So what’s the mission?” Taemin asks.  
“I had assumed that Sniper would’ve informed you about it,” Jinki says.  
Taemin frowns at the mention of the codename of Jongin.  
“He told me some things. Enough. Why do I have a partner for this? Sniper could’ve filled in,” Taemin says.  
“You know you’re too invested in his safety to work with him on a job like this,”  
“Am I?”  
“I think you are,”  
“We work well together. I’ve never even seen this other guy,”  
“He’ll be here soon,”  
Taemin lets out a huff of breath and drums his fingers on the armrest of his chair. Ten minutes and forty-six seconds later, according to Taemin’s count, a sharp featured man bounds into the room.  
“Hey! Sorry I’m late!” the man says.  
Taemin gives Jinki a look that conveys exactly how displeased he is with the situation.  
“Dancer, meet Key,” Jinki says.  
Taemin looks the man up and down with a look of distaste.  
“Kim Kibum, codename Key, mission success rate a steady 82% that’s quite the rate of failure but I suppose it’s impressive nonetheless. I’ve heard of you, they say you’re pretty good on the field but I guess I’ll find that out for myself won’t I?” Taemin says.  
“You’re the Dancer? You’re just a kid!” Key says.  
Taemin barely swallows the urge to break the man’s arm and continues looking at Jinki. While he might be physically younger than Key, he had an entire ten years more of field experience over Key which meant he would be running this mission.  
“Why him?” he asks, his tone acidic.  
“Well, you need a partner because you have to go undercover as lovers,” Jinki says.  
“Lovers?” Taemin hisses.  
Having Jongin here would definitely be preferable. At least he could trust Jongin to do his job right.  
“Yes. Listen up, both of you. This mission requires that specific cover because young lovers are going missing off the street. It’s been raised to a matter of national security by the president and she involved me which means now you two are involved. You’re the best field agents I have at my disposal right now,” Jinki says.  
“A matter of national security?” Key smirks, probably thinking he was special for being pulled into this job.  
“So you want us to act as bait, get captured, and destroy it from the inside,” Taemin says.  
“Exactly,” Jinki smiles, sliding two manila folders to them. “These are the case files, you know the drill. Don’t disappoint me.”  
-  
Taemin watches emotionlessly as the file burns in the firepit. The main target was the ringleader, a man named Yeongmin. He abducted the young couples and then their bodies had turned up mutilated on the streets, creating the problem. When Taemin’s sure the file is all ashes, he turns away. They would ship out in two days for the job, and until then he had been given orders to bond with Key to ensure they could act like a real couple. Everything they needed was being supplied and they were supposed to meet at a little set up apartment in the dingy part of town in fifteen minutes. Weapons would be slightly difficult to hide on this mission but Taemin figured he could manage somehow. After all, he had managed to sneak weapons past the multiple frisks when he had gone to see Jinki so it couldn’t be too difficult.  
-  
He reaches the apartment five minutes before the scheduled meeting time. He had decided to go with black hair for this mission because it was easily forgettable. His fake name would be Taehyung and he’s already worked out a character for himself. Key, who would be known as Hoseok, shows up seven minutes later with blonde hair.  
“Let’s get to know each other Hoseok,” Taemin says, and the way it comes out sounds almost like a challenge.  
Key straightens up, “Okay.”  
“We need to act like a couple after all so I need to know things about you normal couples would know about each other,”  
“Like what?”   
“Haven’t you ever been in a relationship before?”  
Key looks embarrassed, “Yes.”  
“So what did you know about them?”  
“Their likes and dislikes and things like that I don’t know, haven’t you been in a relationship?”  
Taemin flashes a sharp smile. “I have.”  
Key lets out a frustrated noise and runs his hands through his hair.  
-  
“Let’s start off simple then. Favorite color?” Dancer offers.  
“Pink,” Key says.  
“Black. Favorite food? Hobbies?”  
“I feel like these things don’t really matter,”  
“It helps to have a background, even if every word you say is a lie,”  
“Why would you say things like that?”  
“We also need to work on being used to close proximity with each other. You’re too skittish around me,”  
“No I’m not!”  
“Don’t lie,”  
Dancer smoothly moves over to sit beside Key on the couch and Key tries not to flinch away as he notices that he’s is armed to the teeth. He was just a kid after all, all smiles and innocence right? Dancer smiles at him and looks like a small kid. How the hell did he end up being one of the best in the business?  
“See? It’s not hard,” Dancer says.  
He leans his head against Key’s shoulder and Key notices how thin and frail the younger boy seems to be. It seems like he would break apart in a strong wind. Key’s protective instincts flare for the younger boy despite the fact that he knows nothing about him.  
“Tell me about yourself then,” Key says.  
“About me? Why would you want to know anything? It all doesn’t matter right?” Dancer says flatly.  
“Just play along,”  
“Alright. I was born in a small town with three siblings and was raised alongside a river. My parents sent me away to work when I was just seven and they haven’t wrote since. I wandered around the city until I found someone who would put me to work and I took the job even though it was perilous. We met on my seventeenth birthday and having you come into my life was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I fell in love with you so easily it was unbelieveable. Hoseok I love you and I will until the day I die, you’re my light in this dark world,” Dancer says, expression carefully blank. “How was that? Good enough for you? I’ll be the one hopelessly in love and you can do whatever you want within the cover. I’ve had enough of this, goodnight.”  
Dancer rises from the couch and moves towards the back bedroom, leaving Key in a half confused state. It sounded like some of the things that Dancer had said could have been true, but then he had turned it into a love confession for his cover that had actually sounded sincere. How was he supposed to tell when the truth came out of the boy’s mouth?  
-  
Key wasn’t a particularly hard character to figure out. He could tell that Key already felt like he had some responsibility over him, and Taemin would be sure to use that to his advantage. When the time comes to actually start on the mission, they’re ready. The clothes they’re dressed in are classy enough that it would get them into the party, yet left plenty of room for hiding weapons.  
“Wait, what should I wear for this party?” Key asks.  
Taemin looks at him with eyes filled with pity and Key feels like an idiot for asking.  
“Did you read the file or just skim it?” Taemin asks.  
“I read it,” Key protests.  
“82% of it apparently,”  
“Hey,”  
“Hey what. Everything was outlined in the file so it’s not my fault if you didn’t read it,”  
Taemin straps on another knife and hides it. He much preferred knives, they were more personal. Guns were a coward’s way out, it made it too easy to kill people with minimal effort. Anyone could pull a trigger and end a life, using a knife made everything more real and personal.  
“It’s a casual party, but don’t look homeless. We want to be noticed but not flashy, think you can handle that?” Taemin asks.  
-  
Holding hands with Key isn’t entirely unpleasant, but it isn’t exactly ideal. Taemin can practically feel the nerves thrumming off of the guy, and to make things worse he could tell the people around them were picking up on it as well. He was practically radiating suspicion.  
“Relax,” Taemin hisses.  
Key looks over at him and seems to pull himself together, looking at least outwardly relaxed. Taemin pulls him further into the party, mingling with ease. The boyish charm really came in handy and he can tell that Key is taken aback by his flirtatious attitude. It’s easy to charm the other guests while keeping an eye out for the host, and even Key seems to be drawn into him. Key puts on his own show of course, using his good looks to his advantage. The party is in full swing at midnight, and Taemin is practically itching for the host to make an appearance. At 0100 hours exactly, there’s a heavy, unfamiliar hand on Taemin’s shoulder and he turns to face the man with a smile. So, the host had found them first.  
“Hello, I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen you here before,” the host says.  
“Oh! I’m Taehyung, it’s nice to meet you!” Taemin gushes, putting on his most dazzling smile.  
“I’m Yeongmin, the host of the party,” the man says.  
“Wow! So you’re the one who put all of this together? It’s amazing!” Taemin says, feeling like he’s shooting sunshine out of every pore in his body.  
Key wraps an arm around his waist.  
“Wow, it really is an honor to meet you! I’m Hoseok,” Key purrs.  
Taemin can tell that Yeongmin is taking an interest in them, most likely because of the way they look. They matched pretty well with the others who had been taken.  
“Would you both like a tour of the property?” Yeongmin asks.  
“Of course,” Key smiles.  
-  
Out of all the things that Taemin expects, getting shoved down a laundry chute wasn’t even in the top twenty. Yet here he was, tumbling down the metal chute with Key close behind. A string of obscenities comes out of Key’s mouth as they bump along uncomfortably. When they reach the bottom, Taemin rolls out of the way three and a half seconds before Key faceplants where he had previously landed. There were definitely going to be bruises. They’ve landed in a cage that seems to be placed for the very reason of catching them. All that Taemin can see in the gloomy room is his cage and the slight glint of other metal things in the distance, but he can feel the eyes that rake over his body. He tries to brush his hair out of his eyes before getting the reminder that he had been handcuffed before he had been dumped down the laundry chute. How annoying.  
“Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?” Taemin asks the gloom.   
He can hear the faint shift of other people in the room, but they all stay silent.  
“Don’t talk, they could come down here at any time,” a voice whispers.  
It’s female, but that’s all he can make out of it.  
“Hoseok I’m scared,” Taemin whimpers.  
Key’s eyes widen as he looks at the younger boy. Taemin crawls into Key’s lap and nuzzles into him the best he can with both of them being handcuffed.  
“It’ll be okay Taehyung,” Key murmurs.  
Key tries his best to squash the protective feelings that flare up within him. It was all an act. He didn’t know anything about this kid and they were both trained professionals. They had nothing to worry about.  
Forty-six minutes later, according to Taemin’s count, they hear a door open and footsteps approaching them. Yeongmin steps into the light illuminating their cage and Taemin can already tell this guy has a flair for the dramatic.  
“Please, what are you doing with us?” Taemin pleads, the words coming out exactly as desperate as he wanted them to.  
What he didn’t anticipate was the tightening of Key’s hands over his own.  
“What am I doing with you? Don’t worry about it,” Yeongmin says.  
Taemin buries his face into Key’s neck. According to their intel, there would be six others here assuming none of them had been killed. It was his job to kill or capture Yeongmin and kill the rest of his men if possible. Key was the one in charge of the other prisoners. The man launches into some grandiose speech and blathers on about nothing of particular importance. Mostly it’s self praise and other self inflating bullshit. Taemin really can’t wait for the opportunity to kill him, or at the very least beat the shit out of the guy. The man finally leaves and silence descends upon the room. Taemin stands and distances himself from Key before running his hands through his hair and pulling out a bobby pin. He uses it to pick the locks on his handcuffs before turning his attention to the door.  
“Are you going to help me or just sit there?” Taemin asks.  
Key is silent, and Taemin takes that as he forgot to bring something to unlock himself with.  
“You know, I’m starting to see where this 82% success rate comes from,” Taemin chides, before unlocking Key himself.  
He goes back to the door and it swings open. For someone who was kidnapping people, this guy really had lax security and cheap locks.  
“I do hope you at least remembered to bring weapons,” Taemin says.  
He’s gone, sprinting into the shadows before Key can even respond.  
-  
Key comes to the ultimate conclusion that before anything else Dancer was an absolute asshole. He does his best to follow, but the kid is so damn fast it’s nearly impossible.  
By the time Key catches up with him, Dancer has already released the other prisoners from their cages.   
“Follow every direction we give or we’ll leave you behind,” Dancer says.  
According to the intel they had been given there would be sixty men there.  
“Now would be a good time for you to contact your insider on the police team,” Dancer addresses Key as he peeks around a corner.  
“Police?” Key asks.  
“Do you mean to tell me you don’t have one?”  
Key is silent and Dancer has his answer.  
“Unbelievable 82. You really should get one,” Dancer says.  
He’s on the move again and the group trails him. Key’s opinion of him drops even further. This guy was unbelievable. They all follow Dancer into another room that’s far more expansive than the other one. It’s like a warehouse with large crates stacked up and it’s well lit. Dancer scrambles up the side of one of the stacks, surprisingly making no noise and Key scowls up after him. A few minutes later and Dancer drops soundlessly beside Key, nearly making him scream. He clamps down on it at the last second and glares at the younger boy.  
“There are thirty of them on the other side of the room,” Dancer reports.  
“So aim carefully is what you’re saying?” Key asks.  
“Exactly 82, I only have thirty bullets and there are another thirty men in here somewhere,”   
Dancer pulls two guns from who knows where and flicks the safety's off.   
“I only have fifteen,” Key says.  
“Try not to miss any shots then, 82,” Dancer says.  
Key screams internally at the nickname that Dancer seems to have stuck to him.  
“Everyone stay here and stay together. Don’t move no matter what or we won’t be able to protect you. You’ll hear gunshots but try not to scream,” Dancer says, addressing the crowd behind them.  
They all nod and Dancer moves forward with Key on his tail.  
“Flank them. Take out as many as you can before revealing yourself,” Dancer says.  
Key nods and they split up. Dancer seems to disappear into the minimal shadows there are in the room and Key begins his own tedious climb up the crates. There are suddenly multiple gunshots and Key hurries and scrambles up the rest of the way as he realizes that Dancer has already begun his attack. Key crouches low as he makes his way to where Dancer said the men were waiting. Dancer is already in motion, seemingly haven given up on hiding, and there are at least ten bodies on the floor. Key takes aim and catches one of the men in the shoulder then finishes them off in the next shot. The way Dancer is moving among the men distracts him and Key can see how the boy got his nickname. He dodges the mens’ attacks gracefully like it was choreographed with a deadly serious look on his face as he flies through them and puts bullets through their skulls. Soon he’s surrounded by corpses and Key shakes himself out of his daze and joins him on the floor. The kid was amazing.  
“Well you weren’t much help there 82. How many bullets do you have left?” Dancer asks.  
“Thirteen,” Key says, trying not to sound as dazed as he felt.  
Judging from the look Dancer gives him he wasn’t successful.   
“Well, do any of you fellows have a phone I could borrow?” Dancer says, turning towards the corpses.  
To Key’s horror, Dancer begins to search the pockets of the corpses taking anything that seems to be remotely interesting to the boy before ultimately tossing it to the side. It’s the fourth corpse where he finds a cell phone in the pocket.   
-  
Taemin dials the number he has memorized and waits for the man on the other end to pick up.  
“Hello?” comes a groggy response once the line has connected.  
“Minho! Glad you’re up buddy!” Taemin says cheerfully.  
“Who’s this?”  
“Dancer,”  
“Oh god what did you do now?”  
“The mansion owned by Yeongmin. I’m gonna need a clean up,”  
“How long do you need?”  
“Half an hour, but you might want to consider a lockdown before then in case I miss one,”  
“You got it,”  
Taemin ends the call and tosses the battery of the phone onto the ground. He steps on it, effectively crushing it under his feet before tossing the rest of the phone to the side.  
“There should be about thirty henchmen before we’re done here,” Taemin says.  
“Let’s go,” Key says.  
Taemin pulls out a couple of large knives from hidden straps and leads the way. Key goes back for the group and finds another relatively safe location for them to hide. When Key returns, Taemin gestures to the next room over.  
“There’s another fifteen! It’s party time 82, don’t miss!” Taemin says.  
He launches himself into the fray.  
-  
Key carefully takes aim at the men in the room and tries not to hit Dancer as he shoots. By the time his bullets are gone, the fight is over. Dancer has a wide, manic grin on his face and there’s blood everywhere except for on him. Key just doesn’t know how he managed that. The smile is alarming, especially with the crazy glint in his eyes and Key isn’t quite sure what to do.  
“Let’s finish this,” Dancer says.  
He leads the way into the next room and it’s strangely quiet.  
“Hiding are we?” Dancer mutters.  
They hold themselves at the ready, waiting for anything that could come their way.  
“What if they left?” Key asks.  
“The building is on lockdown 82. Remember?” Dancer says.  
Key wants to throttle the kid but before he can act on that particular impulse they hear a noise that echoes through the room, like someone had dropped a metal object. Dancer smiles again and begins to move forward.  
-  
Taemin breaks away from Key and circles around towards the noise. This was always his favorite part of the job. His targets were all trapped inside and now it would be all too easy to hunt them down. He can hear as Key begins to engage blows with the men he finds and Taemin looks around the next corner to find a short, dark haired man standing alone. Taemin rushes at the man and they exchange a couple of blows before they simultaneously recognize each other.  
“Minnie? You’re here?” the man asks.  
“Jjong? What are you doing here?” Taemin asks.  
There’s a hesitation of disbelief before Jonghyun laughs.  
“I was sent here a a clean up job,” Jonghyun says. “I expect you’re here for the same reason?”  
“Of course,”  
Jonghyun clasps him on the shoulder.  
“It’s good to see you but you know I can’t just back down,” Jonghyun says.  
“Same rules as old times?” Taemin asks.  
“Obviously,”  
They face each other, lightly bouncing on the balls of their feet. Taemin makes the first move and they begin the fight. It looks like it could have been choreographed with the way they move around each other’s punches and kicks. Jonghyun manages to somehow get a handful of hair and jerks his head back to bare his neck. Taemin grins and wags his eyebrows.  
“Well this brings back memories,” Taemin drawls.  
Jonghyun’s eyes widen and he sputters, obviously not expecting those to be the words to come out of Taemin’s mouth. Taemin moves quickly, tripping Jonghyun and getting him on his back before pinning his arms above his head. Jonghyun glares up at him and Taemin can see the anger and lust warring in his eyes just like old times. Taemin smiles angelically down at him.  
“Guess I win then,” Taemin says.  
Jonghyun grumbles as Taemin lets him up. “I’ll help you at least.”  
Taemin hums, “You’ll probably be more useful than the partner I got this time.”  
“How is he?”  
“He’s alright. Kind of sloppy.”   
“Is he now?”  
“Yeah, I call him 82.”  
They fall back into their old habits of working together, not needing to speak to understand each other. When Key catches up to them only Yeongmin is left. Taemin has already handcuffed him and Jonghyun stands with one foot on his back.   
“Who is this?” Key demands, the group of civilians behind him.  
“A friend,” Taemin says.  
He offers no further explanation but notices that Jonghyun and Key seem to be sizing each other up.  
“I’m getting out of here. Police storm in seven,” Taemin says.  
It would really be just his luck for Jonghyun to remember just how infatuated he had been with Taemin all those years ago. And really, Taemin wouldn’t be super surprised if Key had the beginnings of feelings for him as well. He seemed to have that effect on the people he worked with.  
-  
Taemin and Key report in to Jinki after leaving the civilians to the police and ditching Jonghyun along the way.  
“So how was it?” Jinki smiles.  
“Fine. Went off without a hitch. Dino showed up and helped and 82 really proved his name,” Taemin says.  
Jinki laughs, “Is that what you call Key now?”  
“I think it fits,” Taemin says.  
Key mutters something under his breath that Taemin chooses to ignore.  
“Are we done here?” Taemin asks.  
Jinki nods, knowing exactly why Taemin wants to leave so soon.  
“I’ll be calling you again,” Jinki says.  
“I would assume you would,” Taemin says.  
He nods at Key and Jinki then turns to leave the room.  
-  
Dancer goes to leave the room.  
“You’re just leaving?” Key asks.  
“Yeah. I’m going home 82. My job is done,” Dancer says.  
He gives a little wave and is gone. Jinki smiles at Key.  
“Did you get to know him?” Jinki asks.  
“I thought I did but really I know nothing about him,” Key says.  
“That happens to everyone who works with him.”  
“Does anyone really know him?”  
Jinki gives him a cryptic smile and waves a hand, “Oh I’m sure someone does.”  
-  
Taemin quietly closes the door behind him and shrugs off his jacket. He hangs it up neatly then locks the door behind him. The apartment is warm and cozy and it’s nice and quiet. The background noise of the city streets below are the only sounds that can be heard. He strips off most of his weapons and gear as he makes his way back to the bedroom. He would clean up the mess in the morning, right now he just wanted to sleep. Taemin opens the door to the bedroom and the lump on the bed shifts and sits up.  
“Did you miss me Nini?” Taemin asks.  
The blonde blearily looks at Taemin’s outline then tosses the gun onto the nightstand.   
“Sure,” Jongin says as he flops back into the bed.  
Taemin laughs softly and crawls into bed beside him, burrowing his face into Jongin’s neck.  
“Ya! Your nose is cold!” Jongin says, squirming away from him.  
“Sorry Nini,” Taemin says as he pulls him back beside him.  
“How was the job?” Jongin asks, rolling over to face him.  
“Easy as expected. Key was okay for a partner,” Taemin says.  
“Was he?”  
“Kind of lacking in some areas.”  
“Shame everyone can’t be as perfect as you are.”  
Taemin scoffs at the obviously sarcastic tone in Jongin’s voice.  
“Sorry to wake you, grumpy,” Taemin says.  
Jongin rolls back over and Taemin traces designs on his back.  
“Goodnight Jongin,” Taemin says.  
“Night Tae,” Jongin responds.


End file.
